Unverified Voracity Hears The People!
As per usual with first UV of season, some of this is a bit dated because of preview week.
I HAVE HEARD THE PEOPLE. I acknowledge that the people demand I eat a lemon. I will eat a lemon, because I guess I'd rather be the guy who eats a lemon on a technicality than doesn't eat a lemon on a technicality. I request that you, the people, acknowledge that my call that Desmond Morgan would be pushed out of Michigan's starting lineup appears to be a good call after he was probably Michigan's best LB in game one and led the team in tackles despite not technically starting. I plead nolo contendre to this lemon, basically.
We'll do it this Sunday at the podcast taping as part of this kid's quest to awarenessize people about weird food allergies that people don't understand at all yet, something Ace has been dealing with for years.
A new challenger appears! Elliot Mealer's Hoke impression is solid gold:
I dream that we will get enough of these to have a Hoke Impression Bracket someday.
Also gold. The Gameday Mean Tweets segment may have been shamelessly lifted from Jimmy Fallon, but lift away, sirs:
[EDIT: apparently this is an autoplaying video, so no embed. Here is the link.
I formally request you steal the thing where Ron Swanson reads tweets from young female celebrities next.
The ND cheating thing: resolved? Well, first: the investigation's tentacles reached out and added safety Eilar Hardy to the Kendall Moore, KeiVarae Russell, Davaris Daniels, Ishaq Williams quartet. Message boards are naturally buzzing with rumors ranging from they're all done for the year to they're all back by Michigan. As of three days ago the investigation was "reportedly complete"—that's when Hardy got suspended.
Everyone involved here was supposed to be out the door when it happened. FWIW, I had a good source suggesting that was the case as well. I didn't mention it because when Bruce Feldman is reporting something piping up with a "me too" is some Darren Rovell business, but now that there's doubt about the final outcome here it seems pertinent.
If there are reinstatements that impact the Michigan game they're going to have to come quickly, what with most of these guys missing nearly a month of practice. As of today's ND presser there was no update. Could you insert these guys on one or two days of practice? (Friday is a walkthrough.) Getting late.
One guy who is out. Austin Collinsworth did something to a knee ligament, missed the Rice game, and is projected to miss the Michigan game. As of three days ago he was out two to four weeks and getting some of that horse placenta action:
“There's a chance we could have him for week three,” Kelly said. “He had a PRP [platelet-rich plasma] treatment on the weekend, so we'll see what happens."
Rice is a spread, so ND was in a nickel package most of that game. They brought in Elijah Shumate next to sophomore Max Redfield; Mattias Farley played nickel the whole way. Shumate busted on the Rice touchdown. Shumate was a touted recruit, as you might expect.
One guy who doesn't read MGoBlog. That would be Scott Satterfield, the Appalachian State coach:
“This game was not what (Michigan) had shown all last year,” said Mountaineers coach Scott Satterfield. “Why they did that, I don’t know. … It was all game. Even the last drive, they were playing man.”
They did that because they had been doing it all offseason. I don't think it's unreasonable for you to read, like, one article about Michigan's defense this year.
Oh that makes more sense then. After Wisconsin finished gacking the game away to LSU, Badger head coach Gary Andersen said he "didn't know" why Melvin F-ing Gordon got three carries after a 63-yard romp in the second quarter. It turns out there is a reason for this other than Andersen being hypnotized by Les Miles's scary voodoo eyes:
Badgers coach Gary Andersen said on Monday that his junior running back suffered a hip flexor strain during the game. Gordon later told reporters that the injury occurred late in the second quarter. …
"I should have let them know, let Coach A know and stepped up and told them, 'Look I need to be in there," Gordon said, according to Fox Sports Wisconsin's Jesse Temple. "I put that on myself."
So that makes a little more sense. Also making more sense: Joel Stave's arm injury has caused Wisconsin to shut him down. He was not available to relieve the overwhelmed Tanner McEvoy. Cold comfort to Wisconsin fans today, though. Jamiemac has a breakdown of the game—Warren Herring going out was a huge problem.
At least the game spawned an LSUfreek all-timer?
Here's a breakdown of the Beilein offense. No doubt you will see this again as Ace goes over it in detail for you after his high school football responsibilities have been completed, but here's 15 minutes of John Beilein's offense categorized by play type:
Wildcats continue dropping like flies. Northwestern DT Sean McEvilly, he of the most disappointing name pronunciation in the league, is out for the year with a foot injury. This is a problem. You no doubt remember Michigan's offensive line looking functional against the Wildcats last year. Now take a starter off that line.
Also in personnel issues affecting distant games, Maryland loses receiver Levern Jacbos and some other guy. They are still set on receivers thank you.
McGary clarification. Many folks picked up on part of the McGary VICE interview in which he seems to say "so what, I committed a literally victimless non-crime" about his draconian NCAA suspension. This is a hot take even if it is a correct hot take. But he's really talking about people annoying him on social media:
"I still get people on Twitter and Instagram still commenting on stuff, saying, oh, you did drugs. Well, you know what, I did, whatever. So what? I learned from it. It was in college. They'll understand when they're in college."
He does say what he did was "the opposite of harming somebody" and "just don't get caught," which is a take hot enough for me.
More Pastujov hype. This one is for the older brother Nick.
Michigan commit Nick Pastujov plays a perfect mix of aggression and skill. Difference maker when breaking down the play, soft hands.
— Sean Lafortune (@SeanLafortune) August 24, 2014
Solar car! Michigan wins again yo.
Blind recommendation. This just went up so I haven't had a chance to read it but Smart Football on the MSU defense is going to be worth your time.
PEPPERS UPDATE. Didn't practice Sunday, expected to play. Michigan does not talk about injuries.
Another nail in the already quite-nailed coffin. Patrick Omameh is probably going to be Tampa Bay's starting right guard this fall. So Michigan had a line with three NFL players on it in 2012 and Denard Robinson and couldn't run the ball except with Denard Robinson.
I can link this now. Jane and Ace talked about their experience of the Horror on EDSBS.
The second half is a haze of Michigan pushing their way back in miserably slow fashion. I spent much of it staring at the clock. I had no idea how many emotions were building until… Mike Hart gave Michigan a one-point lead with a remarkable, weaving touchdown run from around midfield with under five minutes left. One of my roommates, standing next to me, literally wept with a mixture of joy and relief.
(Jane: I had left the stadium by then. I couldn’t do it. I saw where this was going, and I strongly believed that if I went home and went to sleep, I would wake up and this would all be a horrific dream. As a small child, I used to have nightmares that a raptor dressed as a postal worker ate me while my parents stood and watched. I have significant experience in bad dreams. I watched the rest of the game on ESPN’s Gamecast.)
This is literally the only thing I have read about the 2007 game despite the entire universe breaking their longform budget to provide opportunities for me to do so.
Do you think you may be getting ahead of yourself, sir. AP:
Michigan power running game looks like glory days
Have we learned nothing from last year's "IT LOOKS LIKE ALABAMA!" quote from Gerry DiNardo?
One sign this may not be a very clued-in article: the repeated use of fictional house divided child "De'Veon Bell." Not that I wouldn't take De'Veon Bell on my team. That would be like trying to tackle a centaur.
Etc.: Saturday game replay. All explanations of why the Appalachian State rematch was scheduled have far too few fantasies about scorpion pits for my taste. Will Leitch on being a part of the studio audience. Scouting Christian Hackenberg. Nussmeier gets an 11: nuts and gum.
Want an amateur NPSL soccer team in town? Here's an indiegogo for it.
September 2nd, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^
Jimmy Kimmel does the reading of mean tweets, FYI.
September 2nd, 2014 at 12:59 PM ^
Yeah, Mean Tweets is Kimmel's bit. Fallon's bit is the Celebrity Lip-Synch Battle.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^
Fallon's bit was the Thank You notes.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^
And Kimmel is ABC, so its in-family stealing. Which is slightly better than stealing from a rival.
September 2nd, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^
satterfield had no idea we would be going man? at all? that is some executive level tunnel vision, right there. i realize you want to make decisions based on what you see and not what you read, but cumong man.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:32 PM ^
I'm tempted to say something about how they're just not a huge football program so their resources are limited.
Thing is, even back in 2007 it's not like this stuff wasn't all available on the Internet. I knew they were going to run man and I didn't spend a penny. I just watched the scrimmages on MGoVideo.
September 2nd, 2014 at 4:35 PM ^
The notion that coaches can't use advice from blogs because they presumably have perfect knowledge of all publicly available information is ridiculous. I saw a lot of this on MGoBlog discussion boards in response to Borges (or GERG) criticism along the lines of "they're coaches, you think a blog sees this but the coaches don't?"
Sometimes coaches just get fixed in a bubble like anyone else. They ignore readily available information and are reluctant to see what's in front of their faces, even if their jobs depend on it.
September 2nd, 2014 at 5:03 PM ^
What's really odd is Satterfield clearly studied Michigan's off season, as evidenced by this quote:
On Devin Funchess... "He's a tough matchup for anyone. He's a big guy with long arms and great hands. Watching film on him from last year, he did that against a lot of people. This spring, for them, and in this fall camp, you've seen some highlights, and he's making great catches. Two weeks ago in their scrimmage, he made a one-handed catch in the end zone and a one-handed catch across the middle of the field. He's a tough matchup. You put the combo of size and speed on him, he's a hard cover. He's going to be a hard cover for anyone this year, no question about it."
http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/083014aai.html
So the not doing any prep on Michigan's off-season is debunked.....yet he somehow missed the emphasis on press man coverage? Score one for Fort Schembechler!
September 2nd, 2014 at 5:16 PM ^
I think they just went based off the overall history of everything Mattison (throughout his career) and this Michigan staff has done at Michigan. To take what very well could be a very vanilla defense and believe based on two scrimmages that it was going to be the majority of their snaps could be equally as wrong, when almost all their other actual game film says they'll be something different.
Everyone talks about taking the scrimmage and spring game with a huge grain of salt. The App St coaching staff did that. You'd take media speculation and coaching pressers with a bigger grain of salt, because of coach speak and media not really knowing much about anything. So, maybe they expected a bit of cover 1 but not the whole game? They do scout entire seasons and what not, and have to work on their own craft as well; the staffs entire time isn't soley on Michigan or what is happening with Michigan during the offseason. In fact, they likely have a few GAs doing the initial scouting, then the coaches look at a bit of it, but that's far from the majority of their prep work. If you watched the game Saturday, you know that App St has bigger fish to fry from a self-improvement standpoint.
September 2nd, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^
to McGary for telling it like it is.
I bet all those hypocrites tweeting him about "doing drugs" don't feel bad about drinking alcohol.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^
They're right, though. Experts have long claimed a correlation between smoking pot and violent behavior. McGary smoked pot and we have video evidence that he mauled some helpless players from other schools in the '13 tourney. There were thousands of witnesses -- he carried out his assaults right there on the basketball court. One VCU guy got knocked clean off his feet on national TV. That druggie is a monster. Where's the outcry?
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:04 PM ^
Whether he was wrong or not, he got caught and isn't in AA anymore, and we all live and let live after that. Our society decided a long time ago marijuanna was bad, and not just because it made you high for awhile.
There were economic factors that turned marijuanna use into a crime, and allowed bootlegging during prohibition to thrive and grow without remorse, albeit with known social consequences through and over time.
McGary is beyond our reach for lesson-learning at this point. Making him a hard case one way or the other seems irrelevant. Case closed. I wish him only the best.
September 2nd, 2014 at 3:04 PM ^
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^
I applaud your plan to eat a lemon for a good cause. However, your explanation of why you have agreed to do so sounds more like sour grapes than (I don't really need to finish this, do I?)
Will Northwestern have a team to field by the time we play them, or will they be dressing the mascot and the guys from the cheer team?
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:17 PM ^
a sour appeal to logical argument when even Gerdemen gave unqualifying Michigan Monday supporting evidence to the Bolden starting identity, means techincially there is no logical argument to stand on.
Bolden started the opener which our blog leader claimed was worse than unlikely based on his view of Michigan football defensive things sometime ago. And that he would eat a lemon if that truly happened.
From here to eternity, I would suggest leaving citrus to bear fruit on their own without having to prove their sour nature when they fall from trees but we didn't see it happening before or after they fell. In that case, the difference between supplanting and starting, is only a matter of semantics/ lemon curd.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:05 PM ^
An Alford Plea lemon is a lemon nonetheless. Good on 'ya.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:09 PM ^
I will also eat a lemon in solidarity with the original MGoBlogger.
Or maybe I'll just drink some lemonade, that's almost the same thing.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^
Looks like they fixed the mythical De'Veon Bell references. Though a photoshop of that cross wouldbe clutch
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^
That App St coach quote is just so full of cringe. Did no one think to watch the Spring Game film or attend the open scrimmage? I guess the fear of opposing coaches gleaning info from your public scrimmages is over blown.... or App St's coaches are just not that good.
Also, as much as the Omameh thing is an indictment of Borge's offense, it's a way worse indictment of Funk. Two years under Funk and the guy was missing assignments left and right. Two years under a NFL OL coach and OL guru in the offseason, and he's an NFL caliber starter. I guess we'll find out this year if the independent variable was Borges or not.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^
IIRC Omameh did fine under RRod's system. Then Borges started demanding he do things he wasn't good at. He did that a lot.
You can coach a guy to get better at something, but you can't coach a player into a different sort of player.
I will concede the jury's still out, but it's hardly a controversial position. Basically everyone's saying if the O-line doesn't keep pace at improving throughout the season then Funk should go. But everyone deserves a fair shake at a job that's actually possible after failing to do the impossible.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
Omameh was an undersized OG with good feet that worked well in a zone system, particularly a zone stretch system (most of his great second level blocks were from the OZ). By stating something like "Borges started demanding he do things he wasn't good at" by switching from a outside zone based blocking scheme to a Power O man based blocking scheme is like bitching about Rich Rod have Threet/Sheridan ever run a zone read. It was the offense he was looking to run, while he can implement some zone concepts, he wasn't (nor would any coach) completely overhaul their offense and what they believe in in that situation.
Now, to Omameh's credit, he was always a very smart player. He almost always did his assignments, even if he did little more after that. He just came in undersized and needed to continue to grow throughout his career. The fact that he's in the NFL now might be tangentially because he was put into a new system where he was asked to gain more weight, become stronger, and learn more things. It showed his diversity and smarts, two things NFL teams look for that almost all run zone and man based schemes. And when he was able to get to a level of strength necessary at the NFL level, he had the knowledge to perform and now start there.
Part of the issue for Omameh is that in a man based scheme, his best fit may have been at OT. Unfortunately, Michigan had a pair of good OTs that were probably both better fits out there than he was, and neither was necessarily a better fit inside.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^
and wondered, don't you even look at the internet or have some kid with a laptop who checks up on the enemy and what they might be doing differently in the offseason, you know, in the advance of your first game, if not to prepare for you, then for general coaching purposes.
And I guess all we can conclude from that is, the reverse Horror, and Saturday's Apocalyptic return to the future for the Mountaineers based on a 2007 player's view of history and failure to read, understand or check out current events. You are only as good as your preparation and execution of it. They got executed on Saturday.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^
I heard that Desmond Morgan broke his arm...
I hope this isn't true but was wondering if anybody else had heard similar news.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:21 PM ^
thread declared inside knowledge that Desmond Morgan had surgery on Sunday. Poster delcared that he would not post it if not 100% certain. Sounds like maybe a healthcare professional or family of said healthcare professional.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:01 PM ^
That would be a pretty major ethics violation if it is coming from a health care pro.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:01 PM ^
That would be a pretty major ethics violation if it is coming from a health care pro.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:04 PM ^
If that's the source, that sounds like a flagrant HIPAA violation.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^
"I request that you, the people, acknowledge that my call that Desmond Morgan would be pushed out of Michigan's starting lineup..."
I assume you mean "wouldn't" be pushed out of the starting lineup, and agree with your case. Also, I applaud you for sticking to the lemon bit as originally stated. It suits your character better.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:25 PM ^
got a coherent offense to go with a coherent defense. Crazy concepts to have AT THE SAME TIME! Been a while for both.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^
on the line with Lewan, Schofield and Omameh? that's 4 nfl'ers right thurr, son
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:59 PM ^
Yeah, but we were 11-2 that year.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:37 PM ^
is that Molk was the entire difference in making Toussaint a 1,000-yard rusher besides Denard, and that the other guys were chopped liver because we were running the wrong offense to suit the rest of the Oline's blocking abilities, save for Denard, who could make the field shrink no matter who was blocking for him? OK? And so, is this a coda on that point or is there a new reality in our future based on current personnel?
Campbell was chosen in the draft last year as an Oline performer when he never played on the Oline at Michigan. He just got cut by the Jets. Does that mean Michigan also missed the boat on his potential as a 5-star out of high school?
Sometimes guys like Ommameh, a real smart kid with drive and ability, simply do things they couldn't do when they were in college. I kind of remember this Brady kid, who kept insisting he should start, but the fan base and coaches thought that he wasn't the two-way threat they really wanted with a new kid on the block available.
You want to go through rosters and pick out guys that underperformed in the pros after college at Michigan or did the reverse I'm sure we could come up with a long list of guys. I just don't see the point of then then and now.
September 2nd, 2014 at 8:57 PM ^
I'm not 100% sure what your point is, but Molk is probably one of the best centers to ever play for Michigan. Certainly the best interior OL we've had in probably 10+ years. His absence has been felt ever since he graduated
September 2nd, 2014 at 11:31 PM ^
Speaking of Toussaint, the Ravens signed him to their practice squad. From their website:
Undrafted running back Fitzgerald Toussaint showed he deserved an extended stay with a 17-carry, 103-yard performance in New Orleans, in which he showed great agility and burst.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:42 PM ^
The write-up on MSU's defense definitely sounds impressive. Narduzzi has justifiably been the media's favorite "young innovator" for a few years now. It would be awesome if he ends up meeting his match in Nussmeier.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:05 PM ^
Though, it seems pretty much official that every Football-centric blog has now covered this. There isn't anything ground breaking in here that Jim Light or I (to name a couple) haven't already covered or covered in greater detail. It's a nice primer piece that gets into a lot of the essential details though.
Difference is that Chris Brown (Smart Football) writes for Grantland, which draws a lot more readers. Would be nice to get linked to that, but oh well.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:06 PM ^
What impresses me most about MSU's D is their ability to execute. They have a rigorous attention to detail that pays off at the snap.
Narduzzi's dream head coaching job can't come soon enough. Surely, there's got to be an opening somewhere (outside the B1G), right?
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:31 PM ^
And Chris Brown says something I've said many a time that I strongly agree with: MSU's scheme from a high level is quite simple, but it is that way so they can focus on the details. That means the sight adjustments, the reads, the techniques. In that way, it is very much like spread offenses. It is simple at a high level (simple routes, simplified blocking schemes) but has detailed differences that make it work (option reads, safety keys, slight changes in blocking).
Basically, it takes scheming out of it for the most part. Everyone has a good idea what will be run, scheme isn't as important as executing and doing your assignment well. If you can do that, you can stop anything (or in spread offense analogy, move the ball against anything).
One thing though, and Narduzzi may well move to a head coaching position, but he also may not. I know Michigan fans don't want to hear that, but Narduzzi isn't a guy that just wants a head job. One of the biggest regrets his dad had, as a football coach, was taking a job he thought would be difficult to get where he needed to get. In today's age, where "win now" is as true as ever, I don't think Narduzzi is excited about the prospect of going through three years of struggles he was allowed to go through at MSU in order to build his defense elsewhere. That's a huge risk. He needs to rebuild it and he needs time to do so, he needs the talent, he needs the coaching staff. That's asking a lot, and he has personal reasons even to back that. Dantonio has half a decade or so left, Narduzzi may be waiting to take over a team that he has already helped built to avoid such a situation.
However, the fact still remains, is he good head coaching material? Not all great coordinators are.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:43 PM ^
I'll eat a lemon, too.
And thanks for posting the link, although I'm a little disappointed it's just FARE's FB page and not a video montage of 40 people bashing themselves in the heads with runaway bushels of lemons like the #IceBucketChallenge videos all over the yootoobs.
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^
Wow. It's like someone used Hoke's voice to dub over the video. Amazing.
September 2nd, 2014 at 11:48 PM ^
with his response to the hot dog scent tweet. He has terrific comic timing. And Mealer captures it with an incredible deadpan. I wondered what he was up to these days.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:44 PM ^
September 2nd, 2014 at 1:59 PM ^
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:01 PM ^
I don't have to eat a lemon now, right? Good.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:02 PM ^
Satterfield doesn't sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:05 PM ^
Eating a lemon isn't so bad, as long as you remember not to vomit.
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:06 PM ^
season with the full compliment of star players healthy?
September 2nd, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
The Spartans have the scheme to take on the Ducks. They just need to execute.
Comments